Running in the House

Discussion in 'The Toddler Years(1-3)' started by nurseandrea02, Mar 14, 2010.

  1. nurseandrea02

    nurseandrea02 Well-Known Member

    My boys are a little over 2.5. They're wild & crazy & full of energy. They LOVE to run in the house. Laps, from room to room, in circles, whatever. DH & I are fairly strict & are CONSTANTLY telling them to STOP running. We've used Time Out, taking away toys/privileges, verbal warnings, etc. Our family was here this weekend & told us we were crazy. Boys will be boys, toddlers will be toddlers. Essentially, let them run in the house.

    Should we really allow them to run in the house? They aren't allowed to run at daycare, so they know what 'walking feet' are...if we let them run at home, won't that let them think they can run other places (ie other people's houses, stores, school, etc)? Also, we have hardwood floors & only some of their socks are grippy, so they've slid & crashed a few times from running. They've also run into each other, doors, walls, etc. LOTS of bloody lips & noses, but thankfully that's all. I'm sure one of these days it'll be stitches!

    So, are we being too strict? Are your kids allowed to run in the house??
     
  2. Kendra77

    Kendra77 Well-Known Member

    I let my kids run. It hasn't even occurred to me to try to stop them.I don't think I'd be able to. They're 25 months. I watch them the whole time and I'm always yelling "Watch out". So far there have been no injuries.
     
  3. TwinLove

    TwinLove Well-Known Member

    Yes, my two are allowed to run in the house. :pardon: I never really thought of trying to stop them because I thought it would be impossible. :lol: When we go to other peoples houses I tell them they aren't allowed to run and they are pretty good about listening. Just let them know there are things we can do at home and not other places (like running, jumping on couches, etc. ) and enforce it, they'll get it sooner or later.
     
  4. moski

    moski Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    My kids just finished running the Daytona 500 around my house. Meghan was taking out her brothers with an elbow or a grab. They don't do it elsewhere (usually).
     
  5. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    A&R run like crazy.

    As for the sock thing, I don't let them wear socks. Less laundry and less likely to slip while they're doing laps from the bathroom to the kitchen (absolute longest path in the apartment.) There are actually very few wipeouts or crashes into each other too. (knock on wood!)
     
  6. Kyrstyn

    Kyrstyn Well-Known Member

    My girls run like crazy around our house as well. It burns off a ton of energy, and they get a kick out of it. No harm, no foul in my mind. It has never even occurred to me that I shouldn't let them. :pardon: Maybe it's just one of those "pick your battles" type of deals?
     
  7. Buttercup1

    Buttercup1 Well-Known Member

    I let them run. They've got to burn off that energy somehow, especially on those long rainy days.
     
  8. cjk2002

    cjk2002 Well-Known Member

    Mine run all the time in the house. They will chase each other and go in circles on our main level and every time I see it, I keep telling myself I should pull out the video camera.

    They do trip and fall but I think that would happen even if the were walking.
     
  9. fuchsiagroan

    fuchsiagroan Well-Known Member

    I've never even heard (til now) of not letting kids run in the house!

    Mine run in the house all the time. Burns off energy, they have a great time, and it's developmentally appropriate - kids this age are supposed to be working on gross motor skills all the time. I've never had any problem with limiting running in situations where there's a reason to (as in running away from me in a parking lot, which thank goodness never happens). Let them run, it's good for them! :)
     
  10. kingeomer

    kingeomer Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I let mine run in the house too. As long as they are safe, I'm okay with it. The way the weather has been, we have not had much of a chance for them to get outside and burn off of some energy. Sometimes DH and I run with them :blush:
     
  11. twoin2005

    twoin2005 Well-Known Member

    Yep, mine run too! And scream, although I try and curb it, it seems to go with the running. The only no no is jumping on the furniture. That is where I put my foot down.
     
  12. MLH

    MLH Well-Known Member

    Yep, mine run in the house but I do have to send them downstairs sometimes to get away from it all and it's craziness.
     
  13. DATJMom

    DATJMom Well-Known Member

    I let mine run in the house to some degree. Now that they are older, the only thing I dont let them do is run circles around the island. For some reason this really gets them going and it always escalates into someone getting hurt. I dont care if they run from point A to point B. I just dont allow the circles. It's too much with 3 kids. :pardon: I do allow them to jump off the couch onto cushions. They jump and yell "cream cheese and broccoli!!" Dont ask. I have no idea :pardon:
     
  14. fuchsiagroan

    fuchsiagroan Well-Known Member

    Oh, I know! Mine went through a phase of lifting any random object high over their heads and yelling, "Bamboo! Elephant!" Where did that come from??? :crazy:
     
  15. DATJMom

    DATJMom Well-Known Member

    :rofl:
     
  16. Username

    Username Well-Known Member

    We run and dance and skip and jump off the dining room table! We also have a room with two swings, a rope ladder, rings and monkey bars attached to the ceiling. I can't imagine trying to keep my kids still in the house.

    If you have trouble moving yourself, or letting go of the no running rule, start slow. Put on some crazy music and start by dancing. It will quickly turn into a free for all with rolling and spinning and climbing on each other etc. And it will be great!
     
  17. lemongrrl53

    lemongrrl53 Well-Known Member

    Ours run too. Not a lot because we don't have large wide open space, but they run where they can and they particularly like to run up and down the hall upstairs pretending to be Superman. I usually just say be careful. DH chases them a lot and I do once in awhile also. One of their favorite games is "Daddy get me!" :rolleyes:
     
  18. jjzollman

    jjzollman Well-Known Member

    Our boys run too. We do call a halt to it after it starts making us crazy! :laughing:

    They have 3 running games that they play:

    Delilah Chewed (our dog's name and she chews up all of their toys, so they named a running game after her, I guess, where they run laps around the house singing "Delilah chewed, Delilah chewed!")

    Police Dog (yet another lap game based upon on dog, they run around the house yelling "Police Dog!" and they freeze and point at her when she passes by)

    Go Go Go (coined from the Backyardigans episode "Race Around the World", they just run in circles)
     
  19. Minette

    Minette Well-Known Member

    I guess I'm the only one (besides you), but mine are not allowed to really run in the house. Of course they don't use perfect walking feet all the time, but in general we don't allow full-out sprinting, and we certainly put a stop to it if they're crashing into things or seem in danger of hurting themselves/each other.

    They are in daycare too, and are never allowed to run inside there. They learn the phrase "walking feet" as soon as they're old enough to stand upright. It just seemed to make sense to have the same rule at home.

    However, I don't think that being allowed to run in the house will lead to thinking they can run everywhere. They can still learn that running is allowed in some places and not others.
     
  20. brandycaviness

    brandycaviness Well-Known Member

    We have runners here too. They love to run "laps". :pardon: We have had a few accidents, but they have gotten better about keeping their heads up and watching out.
     
  21. nurseandrea02

    nurseandrea02 Well-Known Member

    Well, Alden, I guess you & I are the mean Mamas :). I'll have to have a discussion with DH about our exact inside rules & go from there. Maybe we'll start to allow a little running, but full out sprinting (to me) is an outdoor activity. I was raised in a house where we were NOT allowed to run & I turned out fine ;). But blowing off some energy indoors isn't a horrible thing either. Thank you for showing me how many mamas out there thinking inside running is ok...
     
  22. nateandbrig

    nateandbrig Well-Known Member

    More runners here. We actually have toddler races :pardon: They run from the dining room down the hall and into their room and yell "GO,GO,GO" the whole time, sometimes they have to avoid the speed bump (their 1 year old crawling brother) LOL. I'm another one that never even thought to stop them.
     
  23. becasquared

    becasquared Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    :rotflmbo:

    I just remembered, my sister used to rollerskate around our house growing up. All the time. From the time she was 6 until I moved out of the house when she was 12 that I know of.
     
  24. tinalb

    tinalb Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    Runners here, too! It never occurred to me to stop them. :pardon:
     
  25. Twin nanny

    Twin nanny Well-Known Member

    We run as well, I can't see any harm in it. Alyssa and Bryony have a set up in their house where they can run laps around the downstairs rooms, they used to run all. the. time. when they were 2 and 3, they don't so much anymore. We had the hard floor/slippy socks problem too so I just made a rule that if you want to run you need to either take socks off or put slippers on. They got/get so much enjoyment from it (not to mention burning energy) and we've never had anything worse than a bump happen. They also had no problem understanding that they couldn't run in every house or indoor area.
     
  26. ldrane

    ldrane Well-Known Member

    We let them run. I don't have a problem with it. I agree, it let's them burn off energy. Especially, when you don't have the opportunity to take them outside. Maybe it is an age and size thing right now, though?? I don't know. I have told my nephew before (he is 7) to slow down. :pardon: That was more because I was afraid he was going to demolish a little one.
     
  27. Babies4Susan

    Babies4Susan Well-Known Member

    I don't let mine run in the house. We have a "circle" house (where they can run around in a circle) and so did my grandma when I was their age. I ran into a wall and had two big old fat black eyes from running around her circle house. Thus, the reason mine are not allowed to run around the house.
     
  28. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    i grew up in a house where we weren't allowed to run inside.
    but i let mine run around, and i run around with them sometimes :FIFblush: hey, it's great excercise :ibiggrin: they run adn scream they're heads off and it tires them out
    they DO know, however, that we do NOT run around anyone else's house
     
  29. threebecamefive

    threebecamefive Well-Known Member

    Mine run around our house as well. In the winter, they scoot around on their scooters too! We have long cold winters here, and I can't imagine not letting them run inside.

    I don't have a problem with them wanting to run at church, the grocery, doctors office, etc. I am fairly strict and consistent with rules, and they learned early the expectations when we're out and about. It's not a battle at all, and I don't remember it every being a problem.

    I remember my brother and I running races in our house as kids. We had a big loop with the stairs and a dining room in the center. We would set the timer in the kitchen and race each other. We would use the walls at each turn to push off from, so we didn't loose too much speed at the turns. :ibiggrin: Ahhh, good times!
     
  30. lianyla

    lianyla Well-Known Member

    They run but only at home not in public.
     
  31. sbcowell

    sbcowell Well-Known Member

    I too never even considered stopping them from running, I figured that was a battle I didn't want to face. Mine go to nursery school and they dont run there, but they do at home - i have no issues with it, they quickly understand that different behaviors are acceptable at different places.
    I do try and get them going in the same direction if they start running (to try and avoid collisions), and I do try and stay close by to try and keep it a bit under control as well.
     
  32. MeldieB

    MeldieB Well-Known Member

    Yup, more runners here. DH and I often play with them and play freeze tag in the house. Good for burning off the energy as PPs mentioned. We're perhaps much more lax than others, though .... I let them jump on the couches and the bed too. But they know they are not allowed to do this at other's homes.
     
  33. KimberlyF

    KimberlyF Well-Known Member

    I don't like mine running in the house, either, although it's very hard to enforce. DS gets carried away very easily... :rolleyes:
     
  34. snoopytwins

    snoopytwins Well-Known Member

    I never thought I'd allow the running...I grew up in a nonrunning house...ha. I am now a reformed non-runner.

    Mine run, and I let them. However, there are rules. No socks permitted with running around the house because we do have hardwoods. Watch out for baby sister...if you take her out, no more running. No running into other people in general. No running and jumping onto stuff. No running through the kitchen when I'm cooking. Otherwise, I allow it until the running and screaming drives me crazy. They, of course, much prefer to be outside, but when the weather's cold or bad, they've got to get that energy out...this is purely selfish too (it wears them out for nap time and bed time).
     
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